Not According to Man: The Personal Grammar of Grace
A Reflection on the Sunday after the Nativity
Sunday after the Nativity – (Galatians 1:11–19 / Saint Matthew 2:13–23)
Beloved in Christ,
In today’s Epistle, Saint Paul opens with a declaration that cuts through our expectations like a divine thunderbolt: “The Gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.”
He does not merely affirm its truth, its antiquity, or its fidelity to sacred tradition. No, he insists on something more profound, more unsettling, and ultimately more consoling: this Gospel defies human logic. It does not spring from our calculations, our pedigrees, our notions of worthiness, or the carefully crafted narratives we construct for ourselves and others.
Saint Paul speaks from hard-won experience. He lays bare his own history without evasion: “Beyond measure I persecuted the Church of God, and wasted it.” If ever a man might have deemed himself unfit for divine calling, if ever a soul might have despaired of redemption, it was Saint Paul. His hands were stained with the blood of the faithful; his zeal had been a weapon against the very Body of Christ.
Yet Saint Paul reveals that the Gospel came to him not through human correction or instruction, but through direct revelation: “Neither did I receive it of man, nor did I learn it.” And this is not some kind of boast of self-sufficiency; it is a profound act of humility. Saint Paul acknowledges that grace reached him in a place beyond the grasp of any earthly teacher, at a hidden depth where only God could intervene.
Grace as Revelation, Not Erasure
Consider the nuance here. Saint Paul does not claim that God simply overlooked or erased his past. Instead, he writes: “When it pleased Him, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me…”
Saint Paul’s former life is not blotted out; it is transformed, reinterpreted through the lens of divine mercy. His zeal is not extinguished but redirected toward the truth. His intensity is not diminished but channeled into apostolic fire. This offers us a profound consolation: our past, with all its shadows and missteps, is not an insurmountable barrier to grace. Often, it becomes the very soil in which grace takes root and blooms.
We see this in countless lives throughout the Church’s history: sinners turned saints, wanderers become pillars of faith. Our own history, dear brothers and sisters, is not a disqualification. It may well be the canvas upon which God paints His masterpiece.
“Immediately I Conferred Not with Flesh and Blood”
Saint Paul’s response to this revelation might surprise us: “Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.” He does not hasten to Jerusalem for approval or guidance. He seeks no endorsements from the apostles. Instead, he withdraws into Arabia, into solitude, silence, and communion with God.
This is not a rejection of the Church; far from it! After three years, Saint Paul does journey to Jerusalem, where he meets Saints Peter and James. But the sequence is crucial for him: in conversion, personal encounter with Christ often precedes communal confirmation. Revelation comes before explanation. Grace establishes the foundation before anything is built upon it.
This divine order reminds us that spiritual life begins in the intimacy of the heart, not in committees or consultations. It invites us to give priority to our own quiet encounters with God, trusting that He will guide us into the fuller life of the Church ever more each day.
The Echo in the Gospel
This pattern resonates deeply in today’s Gospel reading from Saint Matthew, as well. Consider the Magi: they do not start their journey with the scrolls of Scripture or the prophecies of Israel. They begin with a star. A celestial sign unwritten in the Law, unrecorded in the prophets. Yet it is real, it is from God, and it leads them unerringly to the Christ-child.
Only upon arriving do they consult the Scriptures, learning of Bethlehem and the prophetic words that confirm their quest. And after adoring the Infant King, God speaks to them again, not through sacred texts, but in a dream, warning them to depart by another way.
Here, Scripture is neither contradicted nor isolated; it is woven into a tapestry of divine communication. God speaks through many voices – stars, dreams, prophecies – yet always with one harmonious truth. This teaches us that divine guidance often arrives in unexpected forms, tailored to our circumstances, yet always aligned with the fullness of revelation.
“He Shall Be Called a Nazarene”
Saint Matthew concludes with a enigmatic note: “That it might be fulfilled which was said by the prophets: He shall be called a Nazarene.” Scholars have puzzled over this, for no such prophecy appears verbatim in the Old Testament.
But this is no mistake; it is a deliberate revelation. Matthew points us beyond literalism to the living tradition of God’s people. Some truths reside not in isolated verses but in the collective memory of the faithful – in oral traditions, in the spirit of the prophecies. The Nazarene reference may evoke the “Nazirite” vows of consecration or, very likely, the humble “branch” (netzer) from Isaias, symbolizing Christ’s humble origins. Whatever the case, it shows that God’s truth transcends our filing systems; it lives and breathes in the life of His people.
The Personal Grammar of Grace
What binds these stories, Saint Paul’s conversion, the Magi’s star, Saint Joseph’s dreams, and this elusive prophecy, is a single, beautiful reality: God speaks to each soul in a language it can understand.
To Saint Paul, the ardent persecutor, He comes in blinding light and direct confrontation. With the star-gazing Magi, He draws them to Himself by means of the heavens. To the righteous Joseph, He whispers in dreams, guiding the Holy Family to safety. To Israel, He fulfills promises in ways both written and remembered.
Grace has a grammar, but it is profoundly personal. This is not a challenge to the Church’s authority; it is her great glory. The Church does not confine God to one mode of speaking. She proclaims that He has spoken – and continues to speak – faithfully, in ways that reach every heart.
A Gentle Word for Our Time
In our era, we encounter many sincere believers who cling tightly to familiar forms of divine communication, fearing anything beyond a single page or prescribed method. This caution often stems not from arrogance but from a longing for security amid uncertainty.
Today’s readings extend a gentle invitation: Trust in God’s faithfulness, even when His methods exceed our categories. He who drew a persecutor from hatred, astrologers from distant lands, a humble carpenter from doubt, and an exiled Child from danger can surely draw us, too, in the manner best suited to our souls.
Conclusion
Saint Paul’s testimony is more than personal history; it is a proclamation of hope: “The Gospel is not according to man.”
And therein lies our salvation. If the Gospel were bound by human standards, many of us would stand excluded – disqualified by our failings, our doubts, our unconventional paths. But because it is according to God, no sincere seeker is beyond His embrace.
To Him who reveals Himself in mercy and mystery, be glory now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
6 January 2026